Turkish minister: Financing secured, Zangezur Corridor to open in 4–5 years

Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced that the construction of the Zangezur Corridor is expected to be fully completed within four to five years.

Speaking in an interview with CNN Türk, Uraloğlu said that the project, valued at $2.4 billion, is progressing without financial obstacles due to the signing of external lending agreements.

“The company is not waiting for financing; this is a $2.4 billion project. It will be built by a consortium of two powerful companies in Türkiye. This is a 43-kilometre line. In four maximum five years, we will fully commission this corridor,” the minister stated.

Highlighting the scale of the work, Uraloğlu added, “We set ambitious goals and achieve them. A 224-kilometre line runs within our borders. A 170-kilometre line will stretch along the border with Nakhchivan; 150 kilometres are already ready and will be restored, and another 20 kilometres will be built. Azerbaijan will take care of this. The work will be completed at the same time as ours. A person who boards a train in Kars will be able to travel to Baku. Our goal is to complete the work synchronously. The 43-kilometre Zangezur line will be the last to be started. The corridor will be fully operational in five years. Since the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line already exists, the new corridor will provide the Turkic world with a shorter and more reliable route. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line has certain capabilities, and when it reaches its capacity limit, new corridors will be needed.”

Uraloğlu also noted that talks on the Zangezur Corridor are continuing, but emphasised that the finer details of the project have not yet been finalised.

By Tamilla Hasanova